Microsoft makes available a new Windows Server 2008 test build

Microsoft has pushed out a new Community Technology Preview (CTP) test build of Windows Server 2008, the first new build it has provided since early June when it delivered Beta 3 of the product formerly known as Longhorn Server.

The build is not for any and all testers; it is for a smaller select set of technical beta participants, according to a post on the Windows Server team blog. The new build is the first Microsoft has provided to testers since it delivered Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 two months ago. (More than 200,000 testers have downloaded Beta 3, the Softies say.)

"So what's new in this CTP? Well, consider that Beta 3 was technically our "feature complete" milestone, so you shouldn't expect to see much in the way of major changes from here on in. However, one major update that is present in this release is the ability to run the Web Server role (a.k.a. IIS 7.0) on a Server Core installation. This was a huge request from customers and we didn't think we'd make it, but we managed to squeeze it in, so you should check out how that works. The main focus of this release was to fix some bugs and improve overall quality and performance over Beta 3, but obviously, you also will see some minor UI changes and tweaks."